Chair



May 17, 1938. I c. H. PARKER 2,117,821

Filed March 5, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet i I i r 7 7 I 42 INVENTOR CLYDE h, PARKER mi ATTORNEY May 17, 1938. c. H. PARKER CHAIR Filed March 5, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v INVENTOR 60 05 H PAR/(ER I 1%3' IN S.

Patented May 17, 1938 PATENT OFFICE CHAIR Clyde H. Parker, Bedford, Ohio, assignor to The B. L. Marble Chair Company, Bedford, Ohio,

a corporation of Ohio Application March 5, 19-36, Serial No. 67,260

.3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in chairs and more particularly to stenographical and clerical types and has for its primary object to provide such a chair which correctly positions the user in anupright posture without causing fatigue or physical uncomfortableness.

It is believed that fatigue and like discomfort which is experienced by persons required to use the types of stenographical or clerical chairs available at the present time is caused from the application of pressure upon the base of the spine as well as upon the spinal column itself. It is therefore a further object of the present invention to provide a chair especially constructed so that the base of the spine and spinal column are free from any pressure by direct contact with the chair structure, but at the same time providing a chair which is comfortable to sit in and which tends to maintain the person in proper sitting position.

With the objects above indicated and other objects hereinafter explained in view, the invention consists of the construction and combination of elements hereinafter described and claimed.

Referring to the drawings,

Figure l is a side elevational view of a chair embodying the present invention having a portion broken away to more clearly illustrate the construction;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the chair shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary rear view of the seat showing the features of the invention embodied therein;

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view of the chair back showing the invention embodied therein.

In the drawings I have illustrated a stenographical chair embodying the present invention, but it will be obvious that it is adaptable to other types and therefore not limited in this respect. The chair comprises a base H3 having a plurality of angularly extending legs I I provided with openings in their under outer ends to receive casters I2 by which the chair is supported and by which it is freely movable over the floor or other supporting surface.

A seat 13 is formed to any desired shape such as shown in Figure 2 and angles M are bolted at 15 or otherwise secured in spaced relation to the under side thereof. A channel-shaped member 16 has its free ends bolted at H or otherwise secured to the depending flanges of the angles l4 and an inverted channel-shaped member 18 is positioned within the lower portion of the channel-shaped member 16 and riveted at l9 or other- Wise secured thereto, the bottoms of the members being in spaced relation as more clearly shown in Figure 1. 5

A post 20 has its upper end pivotally mounted at 21 in the spaced bottoms of the members I3 and I8 and its opposite end exteriorly screwthreaded at 22 which is adjustably mounted in a threaded sleeve 23 secured in the upper portion of the base It). A hand wheel 24 is secured to the post 20 between the member 16 and the base I!) and by rotation thereof the seat 13 may be raised or lowered with respect to the base ll] to adapt the chair to the disposition of the user.

The seat I3 is padded on its upper side in the usual manner, a pad 25 of felt, hair or other suitable material being used and formed to suit able shape such as shown in Figure 3. A covering 26 of leather encloses the pad 25 and is tacked or otherwise secured to the seat base in any wellknown manner. Furthermore, the covering may be of any other desirable material. The impor-- tant feature of the invention resides in forming a recessed portion 21 in the rear part of the seat 25 I3 of such depth that when a person sits naturally on the seat, no portion will contact with the end of the spine. The recessed portion 21 preferably tapers downwardly and rearwardly from the top plane of the covering and has its point of greatest depth at 28, approximately midway of the rear portion of the seat as more clearly shown in Figure 3. With this arrangement'the full size of the seat is retained with the result that a more comfortable seat is provided.

The chair is further provided with a back 29 which may be of any construction, but preferably such as shown in the accompanying drawings. A base plate 30 extends transversely below the seat l3 and has a channel-shaped groove lit at its central portion. A member 32 is provided with a rib 33 which is of complementary shape and normally disposed within the groove 3|. A slot 34 is provided in the rib 33 through which the shank end of a bolt 35 projects. A suitable opening is provided in the base plate 3!! to receive the bolt 35, the end of which receives a hand wheel 36 by which the base plate 39 may be secured in the desired vertically adjusted position so as to adapt the back to individual use.

The member 32 has inwardly extending side members 31, the free inner ends of which are pivotally connected at 38 to the adjacent depending legs of the angles [4, as more clearly shown in Figure 1. This permits the back 29 to be moved longitudinally of the seat l3 to accommodate the former to the comfort of the person sitting in the chair. A spring 39 is operatively connected with the seat l3 to yieldably resist the pivoted movement of the back in its movement away from the seat and a hand wheel 40 is provided for varying the tension in the spring 39.

Upright members 4| are spaced apart and have their lower ends connected to the adjacent opposite ends of the base member 30 in any suitable manner. The upper ends of the upright members 4| are connected by a cross member 42 preferably having a slight curvature as more clearly shown in Figure 4. A back rest 43 is swivelly connected by hinges 44 to the upper end of the uprights 4| inwardly thereof so that it will upon engagement adjust itself to the back of the person seated in the chair. A further important feature of the invention resides in the manner in which the padding is arranged upon the inside of the back rest 43.

A pad 45 of felt, hair or any other suitable material is provided on the inside of the back rest 43 and has in the present instance a covering 46 of leather, although any other material may be used. The marginal portion of the covering may be secured to the back seat 43 by tacks 41 or any other suitable means to enhance its appearance. The pad 45 has a constricted central portion providing a vertically extending groove 48 of substantial depth and width topermit the spinal column of the person occupying the chair to be disposed therein without contacting any portion of the back rest or pad. This construction prevents any pressure being applied to the spinal column throughout the extent of the pad. How ever, it permits contact between the back of the person and the pad on the back rest to afford a support therefor. This recessed portion or groove 48 may be formed by using a strip 49 of the covering material and tacking the opposite ends to the top and bottom edges respectively of the back rest 43 as more clearly shown in Figure 2.

It will be noted in the construction illustrated, a person sitting in the chair will be maintained in an erect position and that in such position the spinal column and the end thereof will not contact with the back rest and seat respectively. This is due to the recesses provided in the seat and back rest which do not in any manner result in a chair which is uncomfortable. To the contrary, the chair is much more comfortable to sit in, it maintains the person in an upright and correct posture but at the same time prevents pressure upon the spinal column which causes fatigue and restlessness.

While I have described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be understood that I am not to be limited thereto inasmuch as changes and modifications may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a chair construction, a seat comprising a rigid substantially flat supporting base, a pad of yieldable material disposed upon the upper side of said supporting base and of complementary shape, said pad being formed with a recess in its upper rear surface only, and a covering of yieldable material enclosing the top and edges of said pad and connected to said supporting base in such a manner that the covering material adjacent the recess follows the curvature thereof, said recess extending inwardly from the rear edge of the seat in order to circumvent the end of the spine of a person seated on the padded surface of the seat, thereby preventing the application of any appreciable pressure on the adjacent end of the spine, and a back support secured to the seat and having a back rest extending laterally thereof and comprising a rigid arcuate-shaped base, a pad of yieldable material disposed upon the concave side of said base, said pad being formed with a recess in its outer surface extending transversely of its width, a covering of yieldable material enclosing the outer surface and edges of said pad and connected to said base, and an elongated strip of material disposed within said recess and having its opposite ends connected to said base in a manner to maintain the adjacent covering material within said recess, said recess serving to circumvent the adjacent portion of the spinal column of the person seated on said chair, thereby preventing the application of any appreciable pressure to the spinal column.

2. In a chair construction, a seat comprising a substantially flat supporting base, a pad of yieldable material disposed upon the upper side of said base, said pad having a generally V-shaped depression in its upper rear surface extending inwardly from the central portion of the rear edge thereof, and a back support secured to the seat and having a back rest extending laterally there of and comprising a rigid base with a pad of yieldable material attached thereto, said pad being formed with a medial recess in its outer surface extending transversely of its width, so as to be in the same vertical plane with the longitudinal axis of the V-shaped depression and to prevent the application of appreciable pressure to the base of the spinal column or that portion thereof which is adjacent the back rest when a person is sitting properly thereon.

3. In a chair construction, a rigid base with a seat pad attached thereon, said pad having its sitting surface formed with a generally V-shaped recess in its upper rear portion only and with its edges rounded into the upper surface thereof, said recess extending inwardly from the central portion of the rear edge of the seat and being of greatest depth at said rear edge, in order to circumvent the end of the spine of a person seated thereon, thereby preventing the application of 

